Society on the Move

I’m going to attempt to write this entire post whilst both on a train and waiting at the Arrivals lounge for my beloved father, who for the rest of this article, I will affectionately refer to as ‘Dad’.

I want to discuss, rather than the transport service I’m experiencing on this muggy July evening, the lives and mindsets of the people on the train.

As the name suggests, public transport encompasses people from many different walks of life who are being transported to varying locations for even more varied purposes.

It is the mannerisms of the people I witness on this train which fascinate me. This train to Stansted Airport from Birmingham was very busy, unexpected for me as I assumed a train in the late evening would be largely devoid of the purposeful workers with tasks to complete and errands to tick off. I assumed this train would contain a mere handful of the semi-retired heading to the airport for a holidaying adventure before the youth would finish their education and finish any hopes of a cheap summer holiday. Yet I was wrong.

It is only when you are within our nations transport system, do you realise how integrated it is. For on my paper ticket, I thought little of the stops of towns such as Nuneaton, Melton Mowbray and March. I previously felt that the stops at the cities of Cambridge and Leicester would result in a steady increase in holiday goers. Yet at all of these stops, people began to leave in their droves. All with differing intentions. Some were white collar workers, who by their body language were fatigued by their long days, providing service for their business before they could return to their abodes. Others appeared less fortunate, they were sat upright in their seats, either consulting their ivy notes from their plastic folders or working on their laptops, fully aware that the day would not draw to a close for them until their presentations and memos were completed. On the one hand, I pity these people. Yet in an ever more globalised world, business is no longer constrained by daylight hours or fixed hour contracts, as more people feel obliged either through their own motivation or that of their superiors. They therefore see this journey as an opportunity that can’t be wasted for such motivation may not be summoned once in their respective homes and a chance to further complete the days duties before the glorious window of prime time drama or World Cup football. 

Others are clearly more fortunate. Or lazy, or employed in a less academic, more practical or brainless job where the workplace clock hitting 5 is a cue to relax and unwind from  these more menial jobs. Their body language is telling. Slouched, eyes partially closed like Prince Siddhartha but without the associated mindfulness and tranquility. Or socially exchanging media content and playing addictive sweet-based sagas on their fruit based phones. These people departed our vehicle , at the smaller stations where what beckoned was either a house or a night of relaxation or celebration in the town. A social outing perhaps between Freundeskreis and drinking establishments. Their clothing was colourful enough in contrast to the business suits to suggest so anyway. 

By the time the train reached Peterborough on this arduous journey, the demographics were evident, for as the night ticked on, fewer people were preparing for a social outing and instead were seeking a place to rest their weary heads. Yet as the hours ticked on, the passenger in close proximity to me ploughed through her report on the effect of antioxidants in pregnancy. Such riveting work was enough to make me turn to a lesser known Mark Haddon novel and my relaxing music playlist of Glenn Campbell and Marvin Gaye amongst others. 

Nevertheless, what can these mundane sightings and thoughts say about us. As a nation and as individuals?

The most obvious analysis is that society has diversified so that unlike prior decades, passengers can travel together to the same location with entirely different purposes and completely different backgrounds and attitudes.

But I’m more interested in the implicit. Whether this is due to my Asperger’s or not I’m not sure, but I do feel an intense desire for knowledge. To know and understand as much as possible about a topic and retain it. Whilst I am an atheist, I admire the omniscient quality of the Father in Christianity and I seek to learn and understand as much as possible - not to emulate God but rather to be aware of everything there is to know or which may be useful or not.

 Therefore, let’s suggest why these observations have been observed. I personally think it revolves around technology.

Is it that as technology has advanced so rapidly in recent years, demand and expectations from businesses has created these more arduous lifestyles for the workers in this world? Technology is at least behind the recent globalisation of business and has allowed companies to expand and develop into new markets around the world, so workers must constantly meet requirements from many different audiences regardless of the individual’s relative seniority in a company.

Since I’m looking into Economics A-Level next year I may expand into this area at a later date.

Or could it be that social media has reduced the verbal communication between passengers so common interests and communities are not developed so social lives are not bound by other people in a passenger’s surroundings.

The latter concept is more abstract but plausible in a working dynamic which year by year is becoming less humanised and controlled by large companies. 

In other articles, I'm  able to hyperlink evidence or other thoughts to demonstrate or influence my point but being on a train without free-WiFi, I’m unwilling to do this.

So instead, I’m going to compare the attitudes and mindsets of these train passengers to the ones at my destination: Stansted Airport Arrivals. I’m here to surprise Dad who is about to go on a European camping adventure as part of his 50th birthday celebrations. I’m hoping his reaction will reflect the trend I notice amongst other arrivals from different ‘corners’ of the globe.

As it happens, my dads reactions took a while to come thanks to a severely delayed flight. In the meantime though, the general mood and expressions on people’s faces was less Love Actually and more Tears for Fears’ debut album - The Hurting. Smiles were few and far between but this is more down to the brutal reality of a late Monday evening where tired travellers are more focussed on choosing a soft or firm pillow for their drowsy heads. It being ‘term-time’, I could count the number of families on my beak. What it does demonstrate, if nothing else, is the many talents and genius of Richard Curtis.

Through the many languages and cultures one can experience in Stansted Airport’s Costa and its uncomfortable wooden chairs, it was and is clear that we should leave all this nocturnal malarkey to the hedgehogs and owls. 

Unless of course you’re a white collared businessman.

The world is evolving and thanks to the internet, our societies at drifting closer together and further apart at rates which I’m sure Alfred Wegener would have spotted in an instant. But I have faith that even in the bustling trains, frantic presentations and exhausted airport lounges, there is heart in this world and a feeling of togetherness amongst our ever changing communities. It just takes time to realise. And a mindset to enact.

And as for my Dad, thanks to the extreme delays the surprise of my appearance was lost yet his love was as unwavering as a corpse’s Heart Beat on an Oscilloscope trace.

FACT of the IPOT: Alfred Wegener was a German who proposed Continental Drift theory and that the continents are moving both closer together and further away from each other at the same time. Ideally you would be in hysterics at the reference without this factoid but never mind...